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Editor's Pick Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyGenes Contributing to the Unique Biology and Intrinsic Antibiotic Resistance of Enterococcus faecalisEnterococci are leading causes of antibiotic-resistant infection transmitted in hospitals. The intrinsic hardiness of these organisms allows them to survive disinfection practices and then proliferate in the gastrointestinal tracts of antibiotic-treated patients. The objective of this study was to identify the underlying genetic basis for its unusual hardiness. Using a functional genomic approach, we identified traits and pathways of...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyTranscriptional Silencing by TsrA in the Evolution of Pathogenic Vibrio cholerae BiotypesPathogenic Vibrio cholerae strains express multiple virulence factors that are encoded by bacteriophage and chromosomal islands. These include cholera toxin and the intestinal colonization pilus called the toxin-coregulated pilus, which are essential for causing severe disease in humans. However, it is presently unclear how the expression of these horizontally...
Observation | Ecological and Evolutionary SciencePotential Rhodopsin- and Bacteriochlorophyll-Based Dual Phototrophy in a High Arctic GlacierOver the course of evolution for billions of years, bacteria that are capable of light-driven energy production have occupied every corner of surface Earth where sunlight can reach. Only two general biological systems have evolved in bacteria to be capable of net energy conservation via light harvesting: one is based on the pigment of (bacterio-)chlorophyll and the other is based on proton-pumping rhodopsin. There is emerging genomic...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyHeterotrimeric G-Protein Signaling Is Required for Cellulose Degradation in Neurospora crassaFilamentous fungi are critical for the recycling of plant litter in the biosphere by degrading lignocellulosic biomass into simpler compounds for metabolism. Both saprophytic and pathogenic fungi utilize plant cell wall-degrading enzymes to liberate carbon for metabolism. Several studies have demonstrated a role for cellulase enzymes during infection of economically relevant crops by fungal pathogens. Especially in developing countries...
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceEffects of Agricultural Fungicide Use on Aspergillus fumigatus Abundance, Antifungal Susceptibility, and Population StructureAntibiotic resistance is an increasing threat to human health. In the case of Aspergillus fumigatus, which is an environmental fungus that also causes life-threatening infections in humans, antimicrobial resistance is suggested to arise from fungicide use in agriculture, as the chemicals used for plant protection are almost identical to the antifungals used clinically...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyPhagosomal F-Actin Retention by Cryptococcus gattii Induces Dendritic Cell ImmunoparalysisCryptococcus yeast species typically display characteristics of opportunistic pathogens, with the exception of C. gattii, which can cause life-threatening respiratory and disseminated brain infections in otherwise healthy people. The pathogenesis of C. gattii is not well understood, but an...
Research Article | Therapeutics and PreventionAnalysis of Measles-Mumps-Rubella (MMR) Titers of Recovered COVID-19 PatientsCOVID-19 has presented various paradoxes that, if understood better, may provide clues to controlling the pandemic, even before a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available. First, young children are largely spared from severe disease. Second, numerous countries have COVID-19 death rates that are as low as 1% of the death rates of other countries. Third, many people, despite prolonged close contact with someone who is COVID-19 positive, never...
Research Article | Clinical Science and EpidemiologyMetagenomic Next-Generation Sequencing of Nasopharyngeal Specimens Collected from Confirmed and Suspect COVID-19 PatientsSARS-CoV-2 has presented a rapidly accelerating global public health crisis. The ability to detect and analyze viral RNA from minimally invasive patient specimens is critical to the public health response. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) offers an opportunity to detect SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal (NP) swabs. This approach also provides information on the composition of the respiratory microbiome and its relationship to...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyHumans Surviving Cholera Develop Antibodies against Vibrio cholerae O-Specific Polysaccharide That Inhibit Pathogen MotilityCholera is a severe dehydrating illness of humans caused by Vibrio cholerae. V. cholerae is a highly motile bacterium that has a single flagellum covered in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) displaying O-specific polysaccharide (OSP), and V....
